(Security of Salvation)
Leslie M. John
“But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners,
Christ died for us”. (Romans Ch. 5:8)
While we were enemies to God Christ died for our sake. He loved us and had compassion on us. God is not human to take back the gift that He gives to believer in him. It is by hearing the Word of God that the sinner confesses his sins and trusts in the Lord. He lays his faith in God through Jesus Christ. It is the Father in heaven, who draws unto himself, those that are to be saved. Such faith comes by hearing the Word of God. He who receives Jesus as his personal savior is secure in God’s arms. Holy Spirit leads the believer everyday and guides his paths.
Eph. Ch 2:8-10 show us that this gift of salvation can not be gained through any amount of works of man. No man can boast that he received salvation by doing good works but good works follow after a man has received salvation. We are the
workmanship of God. Any sin is abominable to God and no sin will go unpaid for while the believer is on this earth.
Salvation is the gift of God:
The gift of God is so precious that once it is given to a believer God can not deny His own love toward us, nor can He deny His love toward His One and only Son, Jesus Christ that He takes back that gift from us.
Romans 6:23 is a very familiar verse in the Bible. There is one great gift that God gave unto us through His One and Only Son Jesus Christ and that gift is the salvation and it is the greatest gift of all. Wages are the earnings for the
work done by someone. Bible calls the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
The Father in heaven in His mercy sent His One and Only Son Jesus Christ because He loved us first, even when we were dead in our trespasses and saved us by grace.
Salvation can neither be earned through the works nor can it be purchased for a price. It is the gift of God through Lord Jesus Christ. He paid the price for our sins upon the cross of Calvary. He shed His precious blood for our sake and
washed our sins in His blood. The love of God is so great that He found us in our trespasses and sent His One and Only Son, Jesus Christ for our sake, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but will have everlasting life. If we
confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins. He sought us because He loved us first. We received salvation not because we loved Him first, but because He loved us first.
Charge:
There are those who charge that salvation of a believer can be lost if he commits sin in his day-to-day life; but this charge is untenable. Salvation of a believer is secure and eternal. The work of God rendered through His One and
only begotten Son, Lord Jesus Christ in extending His grace toward us is everlasting one. He will not take back the salvation from any recipient on any reason. We are sealed with the Holy Spirit unto redemption. An important fact that should be borne in mind is that a true believer will not sin but will stand firm in his faith in the Lord. The Scriptures say that one that commits sin is of the devil and one that is born of God does not commit sin (1 John 3:8-9). Any one who confesses his sins to God and believes that the Son of God, Lord Jesus Christ, died for him and rose from the dead will have salvation and he will have everlasting life.
No temptation is beyond our capacity of tolerance:
“There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it”
(1 Corinthians 10:13)
No temptation has ever over taken any believer that he could not find an alternative way to escape from such temptation. God provides alternative way so that the believer may not fall into sin and perish. In spite of such provision available, if believer commits sins he will receive chastisement from God and suffers in this world. Because he would not be working for the Lord he would lose his rewards also. But salvation is never lost because believer is sealed with the Holy Spirit. It is the gift of God and it is a firm promise from God that he will uphold us and no one can pluck us from out his hand. God will not break His promises.
The love of God:
Apostle Paul says in Romans 8:33-39 that no one can separate us from the love of God. Lord Jesus ascended into heaven after forty days of his resurrection from the dead and he is seated on the right hand of the Majesty. He is pleading with
the Father on behalf of us who have salvation Him. The fact that our Lord Jesus is interceding on behalf of us with the Father in heaven without ceasing is another reason to believe that believer is secure and his salvation is secure.
Otherwise, it would mean that the intercession of the only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, on behalf of us is in vain and has no effect.
The Holy Spirit guides and convicts the believer of his failings every moment. The feign thoughts that God, the Father in heaven, can deny the intercession Jesus Christ are too presumptuous to be taken as true. The salvation given to a
believer as a merciful gift by His grace will not be taken back.
Every believer should keep in mind that there are rewards for him for the works he does for God after receiving salvation. The rewards are given at the “Judgment seat of Christ” (which is also known as “Bema Seat of Christ”) in the mid-air.
The believer, who has truly tasted that love from God, cannot think of falling into sin again and again to repent repeatedly. It would mean crucifying Lord Jesus afresh repeatedly and putting Him to open shame.
Hebrews 6:4-6 reminds us of this fact that a believer, who received the gift of salvation will not think of falling into sin every day to seek refuge under the provisions in the Scriptures about security of the salvation. He would rather
lead a holy life pleasing unto the Lord.
God has chosen us:
Speaking to His disciples, Jesus said that He would no longer call them as 'servants', but would call them as friends. The disciples did not become the disciples of Jesus by their own choice, but it was Jesus, who chose them as His
disciples. He ordained that they should go and bring forth fruit unto the Lord.
The words of Lord Jesus Christ help us to understand that the salvation of a believer in Christ is secure and eternal. Jesus’ own words as recorded in John 10:29 are beyond doubt that He holds us firm in his fold.
“My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand”. (John 10:29)
“Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. (1 John 4:10)
Jesus also promised His disciples that whatever they ask of the Father in heaven in His name, He would give unto them. They did not belong to this world, and because they did not belong to the world, Jesus chose them. (John 15:16) Whoever
receives Jesus as his/her personal Savior, to them God gave power to become the sons of God (John 1:12).
Jesus gives eternal life to all those, who believe in Him, so that they shall never perish, nor can any one pluck the believer out of His hand. The Word of God is so clear here in John 10:28-30 that no one can pluck a believer out of
His hand.
"And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. I and my
Father are one". (John 10:28-30)
A believer can trust in the words of Lord Jesus Christ, just as Apostle Paul affirmed in Romans 8:38-39, that neither any one or any act, or any power, can separate us from the love of God, because we are in Christ Jesus and let us,
therefore, give thanks unto the Father in heaven, just as Apostle Paul asked us to do in Colossians 1:1-13. God made us partakers in the inheritance of the saints in light and delivered from the power of darkness in order to translate
us into the Kingdom of His One and Only Son, Jesus Christ. We believe in the gospel of Jesus Christ and about the eternal life that Jesus promised to us and we are sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. We are purchased possession of
our God so that we may be unto him the praise of his glory. We should bear in mind the hope of our calling, and know "what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints" (Eph.1:13-18)
The severity of Judgment:
The writer of Hebrews warns about the severity of the judgment of God that falls on those that sin willfully trampling down the sacrifice of our Only High Priest, Lord Jesus Christ and apostatizes. Hebrews 10:26-31 deal with this
dilemma that Christians attribute to salvation being lost in case a believer in Christ commits sin. These verses show us the importance of realizing who the Son of God is, and the results deliberate denial and renunciation of the faith in
Christ fetches.
In the Old Testament the greatest of all punishments was awarded to deliberate denial of the Word of the LORD. "Because he hath despised the word of the LORD, and hath broken his commandment, that soul shall utterly be cut off; his
iniquity shall be upon him" (Numbers 15:31). Such punishment is awarded to those, who deliberately renounce the Son of God and tread Him down under foot.
The recognition of the efficacy of the blood of Jesus Christ and his High Priest-hood stands out to be the dominant demand from any one in the world. One that is saved will never renounce Lord Jesus Christ and the efficacy of His
blood shed upon the cross of Calvary.
It is, therefore, beyond doubt that only unbeliever can tread down the Son of God under his feet and face the serious consequences of being thrown into the 'lake of fire'. The believer in Christ is secure eternally inasmuch as his
belief in Lord Jesus Christ as his personal savior involves inseparable union with Christ and the death to sin (Romans 6:6-8).
If any believer in Christ strives to trample upon the Son of God and denies Him, God will make him kneel down on his feet with enough chastisement, and acknowledge that Jesus is the Lord, and reaffirm that He is the Savior.